Effects of Qingshen Granules on Immune Function in Patients with Comorbid Chronic Renal Failure and Damp‐Heat Syndrome: A Multicenter, Randomized, Controlled Trial

Abstract

Objective. The current study sought to compare the effects of the addition of Qingshen granules to conventional Western medicine on immune function in patients with comorbid chronic renal failure and damp-heat syndrome and to explore the possible mechanisms responsible for any differences observed. Methods. Through a multicenter, randomized, controlled study, a total of 282 eligible patients were divided into experimental (n = 136) and control groups (n = 146). All of the patients were treated with conventional Western medical therapy. The experimental group also received Qingshen granules three times daily for 12 weeks. Clinical efficacy was observed in the two groups. Peripheral blood levels of CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, Th17 cells, nuclear factor-κB p65 (NF-κB p65) activity, serum interleukin-17 (IL-17), serum interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6), fibronectin (FN), and type IV collagen (Col-IV) were detected in both groups. Results. The total clinical curative effective rate was significantly higher p < 0.05 in the experimental group (79.41%) than in the control group (67.12%). Before treatment, there were no significant differences in CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratio, Th17 cell level, NF-κB p65 activity, serum IL-17, IL-6, TNF-α, TRAF6, FN, and Col-IV between the experimental and control groups p > 0.05 ; however, all of the measures were significantly higher than those observed in a healthy comparison group ( p < 0.05 or p < 0.01 ). After treatment, the above indexes in the experimental group were significantly lower than those before treatment ( p < 0.05 or p < 0.01 ). Similarly, NF-κB p65 activity, serum IL-17, TNF-α, TRAF6, FN, and Col-IV in the control group were significantly lower than the levels observed prior to treatment ( p < 0.05 or p < 0.01 ); however, while all of the other indexes were lower than those observed before treatment, the differences were not statistically significant p > 0.05 . Conclusion. Qingshen granules adjust immune dysfunction, improve immunity mediated inflammatory response, and attenuate renal fibrosis in patients with comorbid chronic renal failure and damp-heat syndrome.

Role of Alternative Medical Systems in Adult Chronic Kidney Disease Patients: A Systematic Review of Literature

“…Herbal treatments include six single-herb (n=6, 42.9%) [39][40][41][42]48,49,51] and eight multi-herbs formula granules (n=8, 57.1%) [17,37,41,43,[45][46][47]52]. Common single-herb treatments used are Huangkui (n=2, 33.3%) and TWHF (n=2, 33.3%).…”

“…To the best of our knowledge, this is the first review that has summarized findings related to the therapeutic uses of AMS for CKD patients in RCTs. Among the four classes of AMS, TCM was the most studied class which has demonstrated efficacy in improving CKD-related symptoms and outcomes [3,7,[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52]. Among the TCM interventions evaluated, Huangkui, TWHF, and acupuncture have shown efficacy in reducing proteinuria and relieving uremic pruritus symptoms.…”

“…Types of AMS studied: Table 1 shows the characteristics of included studies. Among the four main types of AMS, TCM was the most studied (n=20, 60.6%) [3,7,17,[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52], followed by Ayurveda (n=6, 18.2%) [53][54][55][56][57][58], naturopathy (n=5, 15.2%) [59][60][61][62][63], and homeopathy (n=2, 6.1%) [16,64]. Overview of study design and patient characteristics in included studies are as follows: the majority of the studies were conducted in Asia (n=31, 93.9%), whereas most of the studies were performed in China (n=18, 54.5%).…”

Effect of extracorporeal shock wave therapy on pain and function in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review with meta-analysis and grade recommendations

“…Then, 12 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis and the meta-analysis, totaling 403 (W:271 / M:112) individuals submitted to the intervention and 331 (W:229 / M:82) control individuals. [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] One study did not report the gender distribution among intervention and control groups. 28 A flowchart of the selection process is displayed in Figure 1.…”

“…RCT: Randomized Clinical Trial. 0.28 mJ/mm²) for seven studies, [25][26][27][30][31][32]36 and high energy intensity (< 0.60 mJ/mm²) by a single study. 33 Four studies did not mention the energy density used.…”